Colonel Joseph Laughlin in the Service of the Army Air Corps
Title
Colonel Joseph Laughlin in the Service of the Army Air Corps
Subject
Colonel Joseph Laughlin's time spent as a service member of the Army Air Corps
Description
From his acceptance into the Flying Cadet Program to the re-designation of the Army Air Corps as the United States Air Force, Colonel Joseph Laughlin built up experience as an excellent pilot, commander, and leader. The items contained in this collection apply to Colonel Joseph Laughlin's career within the Army Air Corps. They span his prewar service, his war service, and the year following his war service in which the Army Air Corps had not yet been re-designated as the United States Air Force.
Source
National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
The Estate of the late Colonel Joseph Laughlin
The C.R. Laughlin family
Publisher
United States Air Force
The Estate of the late Colonel Joseph Laughlin
The C.R. Laughlin family
Date
1939-1946
Collection Items
Colonel Joseph Laughlin's Call Sign on the Fuselage of His P-47, Five by Five
The call sign reads as "B8-A". The "B" is for the 379th Fighter Squadron; the "A" is for the 362nd Fighter Group; and the "8" is the plane number within the squadron. This was Colonel Laughlin's call sign in early 1945.
The Nose Art on the P-47D in the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH, Painted as Five by Five
The staff of the National Museum of the USAF researched the original nose art done by Captain George Rarey. They replicated it, in honor of both Colonel Laughlin and Captain Rarey, understanding the respect and love that Colonel Laughlin had for…
The Original Nose Art of Colonel Joseph Laughlin's P-47, Five by Five
The cowl color of P-47s fresh from the factory was black. They did not require a new color until they were to enter combat. However, Colonel Laughlin was so enamored with his nose art that he asked his crew chief to salvage the cowl off of every…
The P-47 with Bubble Top Canopy in the National Museum of the United States Air Force, redone as Colonel Joseph Laughlin's Five by Five
The P-47D that sits in the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, was painted to represent the P-47 flown by Colonel Joseph Lyle Laughlin, Five by Five. The museum's curator, Jeff Duford, put forth several pilots for the…
Colored Illustrations of Colonel Joseph Laughlin and Five by Five by Captain George Rarey
Captain Rarey's renderings were very important to Colonel Laughlin and the airmen of the 362nd. Colonel Laughlin was so enamored with his nose art that he asked his crew chief to salvage them off of every plane he flew. His crew chief, Sergeant…
Colonel Joseph Laughlin Speaks with Sergeant Raymond J. Chodor
This picture shows Colonel Laughlin and his crew chief, Sgt. Chodor, talking before Laughlin prepped for flight. There had to be a lot of trust between a pilot and his crew chief; not only were they responsible for the overall maintenance of the…
Colonel Joseph Laughlin Meets with General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Colonel Laughlin was able to meet with the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces, General Eisenhower, it seems by chance. There is no indication that this was planned, and it has not been discussed in any sort of detail that has been seen.…
Colonel Joseph Laughlin and his Ground Crew
Colonel Laughlin, pictured here with grounds crew members of the 379th Fighter Squadron, knew he could rely on his men to do their jobs. He often credited the success of the group to the men who never got the glory because without their skill and…
Colonel Joseph Laughlin Shakes Hands with Colonel Morton Magoffin
With one leg in the cockpit of his P-47, Colonel Laughlin shakes hands with his commander, Colonel Magoffin, the two of them sharing a laugh amidst the stresses of training for war.
Flight Test Certification of Then-2nd Lt. Joseph Laughlin, September 1940
In order to make sure pilots were combat ready and effective, the Army Air Corps required Instrument Flight Tests be completed every six months. This one was completed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii, just under a year before the attacks at Pearl Harbor…